Garment-fastener.



UNITED sTATEs PATENT orrron. ARTHUR W. RICH ES, OF DEN T ER, COLORADO.

GARMENT-FASTENER- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 11, 1906.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR W. Rronns, a citizen of the United States, residing at Denver, in the county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented a new and useful Garment-Fastener, of which the following is aspecification. g 'lhis invention relates to garment-fasteners, and while it is capable of use in many relations it is particularly designed for connecting the terminals of the Waistband of a skirt and in addition thereto to prevent the waist from working up out of the skirt.

A further object of the invention is to embody the same in a simple and compact form which aifords no discomfiture to the wearer and can be conveniently manipulated for fastening and releasing the same.

With these and other objects in view the present invention consists in the combination 1 and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described, shown in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes in the form, propor tion, size, andminor details may be made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating the present invention applied to a skirt band. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the case member with a portion broken away to show the spring-actuated latch. Fig. 3 is a detail elevation of the bolt member. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of the blank from which the case is formed. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the case. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of the latch. Fig. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on the line 7 7 of Fig. 2.

Like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in all of the figures of the drawings.

The present device includes a case member formed from a blank which has been shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, said blank including a body 1, which is oblong in form and is provided midway of its ends with longitudinal wings 2 and 3, designed to be folded over against the blank, as shown in Fi s. 2, 3, and

4, the end portion 4 of the blan: being designed to be folded over against the wings 2 and 3, which form spacers to space the parts 1 and 4 of the blank to form a case which is closed at its rear end and open at its front end. The free extremity of the part 4 of the blank is bent to form an offset portion 5, having terminal prongs or projections 6 disposed at right angles to the blank and designed to pass through the corresponding perforations 7 and 8 of the wings 2 and 3 and the body of the blank, said projections being upset upon the back of the blank, so as to hold the free end .of the folded portion 4 to the middle portion of the blank.

In rear of the offset portion 5 the part 4 is provided with a pair of perforations 9, which register with perforations 10 and 11 in the wings 2 and 3 and body of the blank for the reception of threads, whereby the device may be connected to a garment. Other perforations 12 are formed in the inner end portion of the part 4 for registration with perforations 13 in the wings 2 and 3 and 14 in the body of the blank for the reception of stitches to secure this end of the device to a garment. That endportion 15 of the blank which is opposite the part 4 is provided with perforations 16 for use in securing the device to a garment, and a tongue 17 is cleft transversely from the part 15 adjacent its outer end. A similar tongue 18 is cleft from the rear end portion of the body 1, and these tongues are designed to hook into loops or eyelets upon a garment,- as will be hereinafter explained.

The offset portion 5 of the case constitutes a transverse open-ended guideway, through which works an endwise -movable latch 19, having one end slit longitudinally and a portion of the latch bent to form a transverselydisposed shoulder 20, working in a slot 21, formed in the body 1. The wing 3 is provided with a substantially L-shaped slot 22, Which produces a spring-tongue 23, against which the shoulder 20 engages, said spring operating to return the latch to its normal position after it has been displaced in an endwise direction.

Cooperating with the case member there is with a series of ratchet-teeth and having one end provided with an attaching-plate 26, having corner-perforations 27 for the reception of stitches to secure the plate to a garment.

It will now be explained that the case formed by the parts 1 and 4 is open at its inner end, and the space between the spacer elements 2 and 3 constitutes a guideway into which the tongue or bolt 24 is adapted to be entered with its toothed or serrated edge 25 a bolt member 24, provided upon one edge in position to engage the shoulder of the latch, and thereby interlock the two members. The members may be released by pressing upon the projecting end of the latch, so as to disengage the shoulder 20 from the tongue or bolt.

In practice the case member is stitched to the inner side of one end portion of the waistband 28 of a skirt, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, with the guide element 15 secured to the outer side of the flap 29 of the placket, whereby the guide element 15 is exposed and projects in front of the open inner end of the case. The bolt member has its attachingplate 26 sewed to the inner side of the other end of the waistband, and by moving the bolt into the case the two members will be interlocked. and the ends of the waistband thereby effectually fastened in a very simple and convenient manner.

It will of course be understood that the device is bowed to fit the back of the wearer, and thereby avoid discomfiture, and by reason of the fact that the device is secured. to the inner side of the waistband it is con cealed from view.

The purpose of the tongues or hooks 17 and 18 is to engage loops or eyelets 30, provided upon the back of the waist, as shown in Figs. 1 and 7 of the drawings, thereby to prevent the waist from working up out of the waistband of the skirt and also to prevent sagging of the back of the waistband.

A very important feature of the present invention resides in the fact that the guide or guard element 15 stretches the flap 29, and therefore effectually maintains the placket closed, While at the same time it operates to guide the tongue or bolt 24 into the inner open end of the case into positive engagement with the latch.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. A garment-fastener embodying a case having a spring-latch therein with one end of the case open for access to the latch, a guard member carried by the case and projecting forwardly from the open end thereof, and a bolt normally disengaged from the case and adapted to enter the case and engage the latch, the guard-plate serving to guide the bolt into the case.

2. A garment-fastener comprising a case having a longitudinal guideway and a transverse guideway, a s ring-pressed endwiseslidable latch working in the transverse guideway across the longitudinal guideway and provided with a lateral shoulder disposed within the longitudinal guideway, and a bolt member to enter the longitudinal guideway and engage the shoulder of the latch.

3. A garment-fastener comprising a case having a longitudinal guideway which is open at its inner end, a guardplate carried by the case and projecting longitudinally in front of the open end of the guideway, a spring-pressed latch working transversely across the inner open end of the guideway and having a lateral shoulder working in said guideway, and a bolt adapted to enter the guideway and engage the shoulder of the latch, the guard-plate serving to guide the bolt into the guideway.

4. A garment-fastener having a case made up of front and back members, spacers interposed between said members and spaced to form a longitudinal guideway, a longitudinally-movable spring-pressed latch within the case and working transversely of the guideway, and a bolt member to enter the guideway and engage the latch.

5. A garment-fastener comprising a case having front and back members, spacers interposed between the members and spaced to form a guideway Within the case, one of the spacers having a spring-tongue cleft therefrom, a latch working across the guideway and engaged by the spring-tongue, anda bolt to enter the guideway and engage the latch.

6. A garment-fastener comprising a case formed from a blank having one end portion folded over upon the other portion of the blank, said other portion of the blank having wings folded in between the main portions of the blank to form spacers therefor, the wings being spaced to form a guideway, a springlatch working in the case transversely of the guideway, and a bolt member to enter the guideway and engage the latch.

7. A garmentfastener including a case made up of front and back plates, spaceis interposed between the plates and spaced to form a guideway, one of the plates having an externally-offset portion forming a trans verse guideway, a spring-pressed latch working in the offset and having a shoulder located in the longitudinal guideway, and a bolt to enter the longitudinal guideway and engage the shoulder of the latch.

8. A garment-fastener comprising a case made up of front and back members, one of the members having a transverse slot, a spring-pressed latch working transversely within the case and provided with a shoulder working in the slot as a guide, and a bolt to enter the case and engage the shoulder of the latch.

9. A garment-fastener comprising a case made up of front and back members, one of the members having a transversely-offset portion forming a transverse guideway, the other case member having a transverse slot alined with the offset portion, a springpressed latch working within the offset portion and having a shoulder working in the slot, and a bolt to enter the case and engage the shoulder of the latch.

10. A garment-fastener comprising a case formed from a blank which has one end por- 'tion having a transverse offset part, a latch l tion folded over upon the intermediate por- I a shoulder engaging the spring, and a bolt tion of the blank, said portions constituting member adapted to enter the open end, of the the case, the other end ortion of the blank case and engage the shoulder. forming a guardplate 111 front of the open In testimony that I claim the foregoing as r 5 end of the case, the intermediate portion my own I have hereto aHiXed my signature of the blank having Wings folded in bein the presence of two Witnesses. tween the case ortions of the b ank to space the same, one (If the Wings having a spring ARTHUR RICHES' tongue cleft therefrom, the foldedover por- Witnesses:

HENRY B. HIGGINS, R. J. CoULsoN.

Workingin the offset part and provided With i 

